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The Honorable Melvin L. Watt of Charlotte, NC sworn in on January 6th to a 5-year term as the first Senate-confirmed Director of FHFA.

Public Affairs

FHFA Announces Expansion of Neighborhood Stabilization Initiative

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

11/10/2015

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​Washington, DC – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced an expansion of the Neighborhood Stabilization Initiative (NSI) to 18 additional metropolitan areas around the country. Effective December 1, local community organizations will be given the opportunity to review and purchase foreclosed properties owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac in these 18 additional metropolitan areas prior to these properties being made publicly available for purchase. Sales prices will vary from market to market.

NSI was jointly developed by FHFA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and involves a partnership with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the National Community Stabilization Trust (NCST)​. The pilot, launched initially in Detroit, Michigan in May 2014, was extended earlier this year to Cook County, Illinois. Based on the lessons learned from the pilot, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will continue their work with NCST to focus on disposition of real estate owned (REO) properties in ways that place a priority on stabilizing neighborhoods.

“The number of REO properties that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac hold continues to decline nationwide, but there are still some communities in which the number of REO properties remains elevated,” said FHFA Director Melvin L. Watt. “Our goal is to take what we learned in Detroit and Chicago and apply it to these additional communities as quickly and efficiently as possible. Giving local community buyers an exclusive opportunity to purchase these properties at a discount, taking into account expenses saved through a quicker sale, is an effective way to give control back to local communities and residents who have a vested interest in stabilizing their neighborhoods,” Watt said.

The 18 metropolitan areas designated for NSI expansion include:

Akron, OH;

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA;

Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD;

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL;

Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN;

Cleveland-Elyria, OH;

Columbus, OH;

Dayton, OH;

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI;

Jacksonville, FL;

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL;

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA;

Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL;

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE;

Pittsburgh, PA;

St. Louis, MO;

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, and

Toledo, OH

These markets are Metropolitan Statistical Areas in which Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each had at least 100 REO properties valued at less than $75,000. An interactive map​, available on FHFA.gov, provides more detail about each of these metropolitan areas.